On 21st of July, the name day of Danielle and Daniel, we received notification of successful registration of Project27, as a community interest company.

A screenshot of the Companies House website, showing the registered company number and company name of Project27 Consultancy Group C.I.C.

Why did we decide to register a company?

As with everything related to Project27 Skills, we see this move as an opportunity for learning, and skills development. Setting up a company is not difficult, but it isn’t straight forward either. There are so many things we can learn during the process, which may be useful in other walks of life.

Registration requires the directors of the company to understand what company structure suits the needs of the business, and how these differ from each other. We needed to understand what documents will be required, who requires these, why, and how we can edit these to reflect our vision of the business. The real challenge is to build a sustainable business, after it has been registered. We need to set a strategy, establish a business model, and identify our added value, with the help of our community.

There are other reasons why we decided to take the risk, despite the costs. Yes, there are costs to registering a business. It’s not necessarily the registration fee what matters. A registered business address alone can cost a significant part of our initial investment. Not to mention costs associated with liability insurance, which is an area for learning in itself. It’s also costly to get accounting support when submitting the company accounts. Nevertheless, we wanted to create pathways to scale, revenue streams, and trust in what we do.

It is important to us that partners, grant funding bodies, and volunteers perceive our long-term commitment. We need to be professional, and if a registered address adds even just a bit to the image, so be it. We pay the bill, and force ourselves to create value, which will cover these costs. We don’t ask ourselves “Can we afford to run a small business?”, but rather, we ask “How can we afford to make impact?”.

What structure have we chosen?

We decided to set up a community interest company. This is why we have “C.I.C.” at the end of the company name. So formally, our company is called “Project27 Consultancy Group C.I.C.”. This is a form of a private limited company, which is working in the interest of the community. Project27 Consultancy Group is limited by guarantee, meaning there are no owners, or shareholders within the business. We cannot receive investment in exchange of shares of the business. We rely on grants, and delivering value to our community - blind or learning disabled people and their supporters.

Where next?

We still have a lot to cover, before we find our footing in the business world. We will spend the rest of 2023 to engage our community and find out what’s most valuable to them. We want to co-design our business, as much as we want to co-design our services. We jumped off the cliff, and it’s now time to start thinking about assembling our parachute. This is a brave commitment, and we are determined to find ways how it can work.




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